Short-circuit detector.



J. K. RUSH.

SHORT CIRCUIT DETECTOR.

APPLICATION rILED 11011.18. 1910. RENEWED MAR. 26, 1914.

1,1 15 ,580. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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JOSEPH K. RUSH, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

SHORT-CIRCUIT DETECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Application fled November 18, 1910, Serial No. 593,092. Renewed March 26, 1914. Serial No. 827,493.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH K. RUSH, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New. York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Short-Circuit Detectors, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improve-.

compact device whereby any line or connection in which the short circuit exists may be easily and quickly located from a single testing point or station so that the trouble may be remedied without seriouslydisturbing any of the other lines or connections.

A further object is to enable any one of a series of electric gas lighters with which a hotel or other building may be equipped to be used to operate a call signal or annun- "ciator at the main office or other central station whereby the occupant of any room in which such gas lighter is located may get the desired service without the use of a separate call system.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will be brought out in the following description.

In .the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of my invention as connected to .a plurality of gaslighting and call circuits with the corresponding circuit closers therein. Figs. 2 and 3-are respectively front and side elevations of the detached signal and line testing. device. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sectional views taken respectively on lines 44 and 5-5 Fig. 1.

The central testing station constituting one of'the main features of my invention comprises a plurality of terminal connections or connectors -lwhich are systematically grouped in compact space upon lating devices are connected. These terminal connections or connectors 1- may be of any suitable commercial type capable of normally closing these portions of the c1rcu1ts and at the same time permitting any one or more of such circuits to be quickly and easily broken and reclosed at Wlll ln making the tests for any existing short clrcuit and for this purpose I have shown the well known form of spring clamp in which the adjacent ends of the correspondlng line wires are frictionally held.

The feed conductor 2 preferably conslsts of a flat metal plate to which the terminal connections 1 are directly secured by rivets or other fastening means, said plate also serving as a support for a suitable signal as an electric bell 3 and insulation by which said bell is insulated from the plate.

By mounting the signal 3 and terminal connections 1 upon the same plate-in the manner described I am enabled to produce a neat and compact testing device as a complete article of manufacture capable of being easily and quickly installed within a very small space in any part of a building where such a device might be useful and most easily accessible.

Current may be supplied to the several line circuits and to the electric signal from any suitable source of electric energy as a battery 4- and when the device is used in connection with one or more gas lighting circuits one pole of the battery is connected by a wirev -.5 to one terminal of a spark coil -6- having its other terminal connected by a wire, 7- to the plate 2-- through the medlum of a terminal connection -1'- similar to those previously described. In order that this testing and signal de vice may be clearly understood I have illustrated somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 1 two diiferent forms of gas lighters 8- and -9- and also two different forms of circuit closers 10 and 11-, each of the lighting devices and circuit closers being connected in a separate circuit ,having one side thereof connected to the corresponding terminal connection or circuit breaker -1- 0n the plate -2 which is in electrical connection with one pole of the battery while the other side of each circuit is electrically connected to the opposite pole of said battery. For example, the electric gas lighting device 8- is associated with an.

to a return conductor 14 leading to the battery 4.

, By turning on the gas in the usual manner and then operating the electric gas lighter 8 by means of a pull cord 15 or other suitable operating device, the circuit will be closed through the coil -6 thereby producing a spark at the tip of a gas jet -a and igniting the gas, the current passing from the battery 4: through the conductor -5 and coil (6- and thence through the conductors 7, -2- and 12- to the gas lighter and return through the conductor -14- to the battery.

When the coil 6 is employed for gas lighting the signal 3-- is preferably connected by conductors 16- and -17- to the opposite terminals of the coil and therefore a part of the current passes through the conductors 16- and -l7 suflicient to operate the signal 3-, so that any number of these circuit closers --8-- located in different rooms or difierent parts of a building may be operated independently of their functions as gas lighters to close their respective circuits through the signal 3 and thereby serve as an independent call system for any service or purpose for which such a call system might be used, thereby obviating the necessity for an extra call system.

When no spark is required in any of the circuits and the device is used simplyas a signal system for calls, burglar alarms and similar uses the spark coil 6 may be omltted un er which conditions the conductor 16 would be connected directly to the wire 5-5 or adjacent pole of the battery while the conductor -.17 would be connected directly to the wire 7' or conductor 2- so that to close any one of the circuits as, for example, that in which thecircuit closer 8- is connected would cause the current to pass from the battery -5-' through the conductor --16- to' thesignal -3 and thence through .the conductors 17-, 7, 2- and 12 to the circuit closer 8: and return through the conductor -14' to the battery.

One side of the circuit closer 10- is connected by a conductor 18- to one of the connectors 1- and its other side is connected by a conductor 19 to the return conductor 14 leading to the battery 4 for closing the circuit and operating the signal 3 for calls, burglar alarms, and other uses to which it might be applied and it is evident that any number of these circuit closers may be used throughout a building and connected to the same or different circuit breakers l as for example an additional switch 10- which is connected in parallel with the circuit closer -10 Fig. 1.

The automatic gas burner 9- is'also of the usual commercial type in which the gas is turned on and ignited and turned off by suitable electrically operated means controlled by the double switch or key 11- which is connected by a conductor 20 to one of the connectors '1'- and is also connected by separate conductors 21 and 22 to the automatic gas lighter 10, the latter being connected by a conductor 23 to the {return conductor 14- so that by pressing the light button at the top of the key 1lthe circuit will be closed through the line 21-- and gas lighter that such signal will continue to operate as long as either of the switches are closed so that in case any one of the switches should remain in its closed position or in case there should be a short circuit in any one of the linewires, as for example, at w the particular line in which the closed switch is connected or that in which the short circuit exists may be readily located by successively opening and closing the connectors -1 until the signals cease to operate, thereby indicating that the short circuit or closed switch exists in the line which is connected to that particular connector and enables the operator to readily trace and remedy the llzirouble without disturbing any of the other nes.

If there should be no attendant present capable of making this test and the bell should continue to ring the entire testing device and other parts of the system may be entirely out out of the battery circuit by simply disconnecting the line wire 7 from its conductor 1' to save the battery from running down or exhausting its energy.

What I claim is:

The combination with a central station provided with a plurality of slip terminals;

a common feed conductor for said terminals, pole of said battery With said circuit closers.

a sparking coil having one terminal con- In Witness whereof I have hereunto set 10 nected to said feed conductor, a battery havmy hand on this fifth day of November, ing one pole connected to the other terminal 1910.

of the sparking coil, a bell connected to the terminals of said sparking coil, a plurality of circuit closers connected to said termi- Dads, and a Wire connecting the remaining JOSEPH K. RUSH. Witnesses:

H. E. CHAsE,

SPEAKING. 

